Information flows and centrality among elite European newspapers

Combining citations and network analysis, this study examines information flows between 10 European elite newspapers from 2000 to 2009 and identifies this network’s most central actors, subgroups and structural features. At the same time, the paper contributes to the literature with an alternative and network approach to the study of the European public sphere. Results indicate that The Times and The Guardian are the most quoted by other foreign newspapers, while the top monitors of information are The Guardian and El Pais. A longitudinal analysis of structural network metrics indicate a less dense but more inclusive information exchange that can be interpreted as sign of a qualitative transformation of the European communication space in the direction of a horizontal integration.